


Relaxation

by EndovaElixabete



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: I will finish this eventually!, It's just been rough lately!, It's yoga, M/M, Yoga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 11:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14893982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndovaElixabete/pseuds/EndovaElixabete
Summary: It wasn’t really his kind of thing. A coworker had recommended it to him. Apparently he had “anger issues” that he needed to resolve. He needed to take a “break”. He needed a “hobby”. It was just their way of telling Goro that he really should focus on something other than work.But he didn’t deny their claims. So he showed up to his first yoga class with an open mind.





	1. First Class

**Author's Note:**

> Things have been... Rough lately. But, for now, I have the minimum requirements for this done! One day I will finish this! But I have a few other projects to work on as well, so I'll be a bit sow on the updates. This _will_ be finished one day though! I promise you!
> 
> But this is my entry for the Shuakeshu BB! I hope you all like it!

** **

** Week One **

**First Class**

So it turned out that yoga mats could be pretty expensive. Goro hadn’t had the fainted clue why something that was just a glorified piece of foam could be so expensive that he would have to budget for it. Even at big-time retailers they had really expensive mats.

He settled for one he could pay for with a single note from his wallet.

He’d been told when he signed up for yoga classes that he was allowed to use the mats provided, but something about laying and resting on a place with someone else’s sweat and germs just… Didn’t sound fun. Or sanitary. Despite knowing that the mats had to be cleaned after each class, Goro was sure that not everyone’s standard of cleanly was anything close to his own. 

It was disgusting, and he really didn’t want to risk getting strep throat or something of the like due to sharing a mat with someone else. Especially if he ended up accidentally grabbing a child’s mat.

As cute as children could be, they weren’t exactly the most conscious of anything… Cleanly. And who was to say that their parent would feel the need to wipe down their mat after a class? Gross.

Granted, buying a container of disinfecting wipes was a cheaper option. But Goro really didn’t like the idea of sweating on anything that didn’t belong to him.

And, again, it was a just in case scenario.

Nothing was special about his mat though. Plain red, it was the one he liked most at the store that was in his price range. Of course there was the branding printed on the mat, but no one would care if he bought a cheap one, right?

He was sure anyone taking classes at a public gym knew the value of a dollar. And yoga classes were expensive enough as it was.

It was painfully expensive, really. But buying his classes in a large group in advance was the cheapest option. You saved money by buying in bulk. And even if Goro ended up not liking yoga, he was still determined to keep up with his classes.

He needed that bit of stress relief. Riding his bike usually did that sort of thing for him, but lately it’d been losing a bit of it’s charm. Maybe his coworker was right. Maybe he really just needed to try out a new experience.

Yoga was said to calm people down, right? Goro had only ever heard positive reviews about the… Sport(?). 

And his career could be much more than stressful at times. Sitting down and trying to solve cases, doing interviews with suspects and witnesses, preparing things for court. He never knew that being a detective could be so overwhelming at times. Difficult sometimes, yes, but not _every_ time he went into work. And the stress was definitely taking it’s toll on him. 

Goro was in a constant state of looking like a mess. Even on his best days he still had bags under his eyes. Sleepless nights following heavily emotional cases… Goro knew that he shouldn’t get so attached to his work, but it was difficult. Talking to families who were wronged, and others who were angry. 

It was difficult to not get attached, especially when it was a child that needed to talk about what happened. The poor things didn’t deserve the sorts of things that Goro had to experience.

But he genuinely enjoyed the work that he did as a detective. He just…

He recently began listening to the advice of his seniors. When a case got too much for him to handle, they did try their best to help out.

But Goro was stubborn. Maybe taking these classes would help him listen to reason a bit better.

Maybe.

He bought his mat on the way to his class though, standing in the middle of the chain store’s fitness section in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

But, again, picking out that mat had been a mild adventure, and in the end Goro ended up at his class just on time. As predicted.

Or, at least he got to the gym on time. Of course he needed a bit of aid from the receptionist to find where his classes were taking place. There weren’t exactly signs everywhere telling you the exact place to go. Goro assumed that the rooms were used for different events throughout the day. It didn’t seem like a bad idea. Why use big, open rooms for just one thing exclusively when you could get more business by changing it up.

Yoga classes were held multiple times a day. Goro just had to pick one of them at a time that he thought appropriate, and show up.

Beginners classes couldn’t be _too_ different, could they be?

Well, he supposed it always depended on the teacher.

But the evening classes seemed more his thing. Come home from work, get changed, relax with a bit of yoga. It didn’t seem like a bad deal, right? It might be good for clearing his mind so that he could sleep better. And that was what he was hoping for.

Goro looked at the posters that lined the walls as he wandered down the hall to his classroom. The receptionist said that it was in room one-hundred-twelve. It wasn’t that far of a walk, but it did give him time to look at all of the posters.

Those people sure were happy to be lifting weights, huh? It was almost funny looking at how everyone was using those fake smiles to pretend that they were enjoying themselves. Then again, Goro could relate. A little bit. He did love to do outdoor sporting activities. 

He sure didn’t look fake-happy when he did them though.

Maybe _real_ happy. Or just focused.

He stopped at the correct room that was assigned though, looking over the plaque. It read the room number, along with “yoga”. The plaque was interchangeable too, and Goro wondered if the instructor had to switch it out before and after each class. Hmm.

But it looked like there was no turning back now. Even if he wanted to run, Goro had already gotten his mat and unwrapped it (effectively ending any sort of return option), and he was standing outside of the room. The classes were non-refundable though too, so… Well, there really was no turning back.

He’d heard a few things about the usual instructor that taught the class in the evening. Sweet, calm, patient… Apparently there’d only been good words to say about him. Then again, the manager could have just been telling him whatever he needed to in order to get Goro to pay for the classes. Talk up the instructor, make it seem like he would be having a good time, get the money. Right? It was business. Smart business.

However, Goro had been prepared to pay for classes the moment he walked through the front door. He’d done his research. This place was the cheapest he could find in the immediate area. Driving any longer than fifteen or so minutes was a huge turn-off when he’d be coming to his classes just after work.

But, since there was no turning back, Goro decided to finally head into the classroom. There were some windows off to the side to look into the room, but he didn’t really care to look. He’d see inside when he got there, he supposed.

He reached out, hand grasping onto the door handle and then he pushed, finally entering the room-- only to come face-to-face with something… Weird.

At the front of the classroom there was a small group of people… Observing. Something-- or rather _someone_.

His palms were pressed to a yoga mat below himself as he did a handstand, but his body was curved. His legs were bent and his feet were pressed against the top of his head. It was an interesting pose, if nothing else. It was definitely something that Goro _knew_ he’d never be able to do. That’s too much upper body strength. And despite doing a lot of climbing, another issue was the lack of Goro’s flexibility.

But the male, a black-haired, glasses wearing nimble man, glanced in Goro’s direction, a smile on his face. “Welcome.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly an _unwelcome_ sight. Not at all. Flexibility was attractive. Fantasizing about your yoga instructor? Not really.

But by then the entire class was looking in his direction. It was… A little overwhelming. Goro wasn’t exactly used to a bunch of strangers watching him like that. But no one looked offended by his presence. Good. He wondered how long all of them had taken classes here. Perhaps some of them were new like him? 

Hell if he knew.

But, with that, the instructor seemed to be satisfied with his showing off. He brought his feet ot the ground and then stood upright, hands on his hips as he looked around at everyone. He wore loose clothing-- a large t-shirt, and baggy yoga pants that cuffed at his ankles. Overall, he looked comfortable. 

Looking around, everyone seemed to be comfortable. Leggings and sweatpants, tank tops and t-shirts, and even some women in just sports bras. At least Goro knew he wasn’t underdressed. 

And then the instructor let out a satisfied sigh. “All right. Let’s get started.”

A quick look to his watch, and Goro saw that it was about ten minutes after the class was supposed to have started. They were pretty lax about it, huh? He was so used to having to be prompt and on time…

But he was here to relax. He wasn’t here to worry about the time that passed. Despite the fact that it was _really_ expensive time.

Everyone wandered around the room though, heading over to their already set up mats or beginning to set them up themselves. Goro found himself wandering to the back of the group and setting up his mat beside someone else-- a male. The class wasn’t large, but it was possible that someone would come in late too. 

But less people was just perfect. It meant less people to embarrass himself in front of. Or behind considering his location in the classroom. 

But he unrolled his mat without a word, smoothing it out and then slipping off his shoes before he stepped onto it. 

Was that the proper procedure? He wasn’t sure. He’d never done anything yoga before. But the male next to him was just barefoot. The instructor had been barefoot. Was it bad that Goro was still wearing socks? Sure, he could just take them off later, but there was an underlying worry on his mind that someone would stare at him while he did it. That wasn’t what he wanted, but… Well, the only people he had to worry about was the instructor and the guy beside himself.

And then the instructor sat down on his mat, his legs crossing and his hands set on his knees. “We’ll start off cross-legged.” 

His voice was soft and it wasn’t exactly _easy_ to hear him. Maybe a spot closer would have been better. But it was nice that everyone was silent. That way it would be the easiest possible way to hear the male.

Goro did as he was told though, sitting down on the ground cross-legged. For some reason the position that he was in reminded him back in his youngest of school years when the entire class would be made to sit in a semicircle, legs crossed and mouths shut. 

It seemed a little bit degrading, but if this was what yoga was supposed to be about, then Goro _had_ to try it. His wallet was begging him to. 

“We have a few new faces with us today, so we’ll take it easy.” The instructor said as he smiled to the group in front of himself. He seemed to be in a good mood. It was almost refreshing compared to the attitude Goro and his coworkers took on a daily basis.

At least he knew that it would be a simple class though. Taking it easy sure did sound great for his first day, and he _really_ didn’t want to try anything like what he’d seen the black haired male doing when he first walked into the room. 

“Close your eyes.” He instructed, and Goro assumed that he’d done the same. He couldn’t exactly see the male’s eyes from his spot at the back of the room. His glasses kinda got in the way. Goro did as he was told once again.

“Take a deep breath.” Everyone seemed to do as he’d told. Goro heard quite a few breaths. “And let it out. Again.”

So far it’d seemed to be pretty calming. Then again, Goro could have told himself to take some deep breaths while sitting on the ground at home. It wasn’t exactly something he’d wanted to have to pay to do.

“Now let your chin touch your chest. Good. And roll up your neck.”

Okay, this was easy. Almost too easy. 

“All right, now place your left palm to the mat beside you, and raise your right arm into the air and over your head. Take a deep breath and stretch as far as you can. Hold your pose. Deep breath.”

Hell, if this was how beginner’s yoga went, Goro wondered if he should have taken a more difficult course.

“And now place your right hand to the ground and stretch your left arm over your head. Deep breath.”

Okay, maybe a _much_ more difficult course.

“All right. Now, we’ll get onto our all fours into the tabletop position. Point your toes back. Ground yourselves-- remember we’re becoming one with the earth.”

What was this? A bunch of hippie talk? Goro really wasn’t used to that kind of way of thinking. Regardless, he was on his hands and knees much like a baby would have been when they crawled around the floor. 

But when was this supposed to be _relaxing_? All he felt was _unchallenged_.

Well, maybe that was what relaxation was supposed to feel like.

He scoffed. And of course it had to be at a particularly quiet part of their stretches. Goro could feel that other members of the class glanced in his direction, and he felt his cheeks turn a little pink. Whoops.

It was only a few short minutes into class and he was already starting trouble. Good going, Goro.

However, the instructor didn’t seem to notice.

“Keep your palms pressed flat-- feed your energy into the ground.”

This was probably a little too weird for Goro’s liking. 

“Now be _firm_. Remember that we are rooted to the earth through our palms. Center your gravity evenly. Try not to slouch, ma’am.”

Oh. Seems like he caught someone misbehaving, huh? Taking a glance over to the teacher, he spotted the male looking in the general direction of one of his fellow classmates. Oh. Goro honestly hadn’t been sure if he’d been watching this whole time or not. He supposed that answered that question. 

“We’re building strength in our palms now. Take a deep breath-- and _exhale_.”

There sure was a lot of breathing to do, wasn’t there? Or at least a lot of breathing to be conscious about. 

“Now remember; If it seems to be too difficult or you need to take a break, please do so. Sit down, observe, drink some water-- from the table at the back of the room.”

If anything, this certainly was… Pretty calming. As strange as it was for Goro to just sit back and do something so soft and void of action, it… Well, the longer he did it, the less he felt that this was a _bad_ thing. Maybe his coworkers were right.

“And now we’re going to curl our toes under and slowly draw your hands towards the top of the mat. Bring your body back and extend your arms and elbows to the mat-- that’s it. Now we’re going to press our foreheads to the mat. Stretch as well as you can. Keep grounded.”

Okay, so maybe they _we’re_ right. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“Now _slowly_ and one leg at a time we’re going to press the bottoms of our feet to the mat. One and then the other. Now keep your legs as straight as you can. If you have to keep them bent, it’s fine. You shouldn’t feel any pain, just stretches.”

At least Goro was flexible enough to do this.

“Straighten maybe only one leg at a time if you can. Remember to relax. This is the downwards-facing dog.”

Huh. And maybe he could get used to this.

 

It wasn’t as forceful as Goro was used to his exercise being, so it felt… Nice. Different.

And the rest of the class wasn’t so bad.

But when it was finished, Goro found himself lingering behind. Most other members of the class seemed to have other activities to attend to or spent time speaking amongst themselves. The only person that seemed interested in lingering behind was the male that had set up camp beside Goro. He’d wandered up to the instructor and they… Seemed to be joking around. Huh. Maybe they were friends.

But Goro was quick to slip his shoes back on once he was off his mat. And then came the task of trying to roll up the mat. He grabbed it by one end and just… Rolled it up. Something seemed wrong about the way he rolled it, but… Well, it could be worse, he supposed. It wasn’t like he could put his finger on it anyway.

Picking up his mat, Goro just tucked it under his arm. That would be the best way to carry it, right? It was the way he’d brought it in, but…

He noticed some other members of the class had things like bags, or a special strap to hold their mats together. If Goro really liked the idea of keeping up with his classes, then maybe it would be a good investment to get one of those. If anything, it would be good to keep his bag rolled up. For some reason rubber bands didn’t seem like they would be a good investment for a piece like this.

But after all of the other members of the class seemed to have fizzled out, Goro found the instructor rolling up his mat. He was much faster at it than Goro was (which was reasonable), and he was slipping it into his bag afterwards. Like most of the members of the class, he properly took care of his mat, it looked like.

Who would he be if he didn’t though? He was the teacher, after all.

Wandering over to him slowly, Goro looked down at the other male as he kneeled on the ground zipping up his bag and humming a little bit.

How was he supposed to start a conversation like this?

“Uh, hey…”

Best to start from square one, right?

Looking up at Goro, the (admittedly attractive) yoga master (?) gave him a smile as he stood, shouldering the bag with his mat.

“Sorry. I don’t do private lessons.”

What?

Goro found himself blinking a few times, then shaking his head. “No, that’s not what I-” He said, his sentence trailing off after that.

And then the male frowned, placing a hand on his chest. “Oh. I’m sorry. You were so bad that I assumed…”

… _Wow_. What an _asshole_.

From how he’d been all through class-- warm and welcoming and so _kind_ , Goro never assumed that he’d be… This rude. Right away too.

He was honestly pretty shocked.

So shocked that he didn’t know what else to say. Thus, he turned on his heel and walked right out of the room. Maybe socializing with the teacher was a bad idea.


	2. Second Class

** **

** Week One **

**Second Class**

It had been a few days since his return to the gym. Despite not doing much on the first day, his limbs had been sore at work. _Really_ sore. Perhaps he hadn’t stretched properly in a long while. Or maybe he just hadn’t stretched enough before performing the more difficult poses.

As difficult as they could be when the class seemed to be the most easy thing he’d ever been through.

But he hadn’t been back for other reasons as well. After having a few cases to take care of during work, Goro had to take a short rest from the class. Even if it was supposed to be his relief from his immediate stress, sometimes he just didn’t have the time for it. 

But today was different. He’d finished yet another case an it was cause for celebration. A quick yoga class and some ice cream after. That sounded pleasant, right? A little reward for his hard work. At least yoga could clear his mind.

And he’d be much better prepared for it this time. 

Class had been fine. Maybe it seemed a little longer than he had felt it was last time, but it wasn’t _too_ bad. Easy stretches once again, and his teacher showing off at the beginning. 

He sure did like to show off, didn’t he? What an asshole. Well, at least he was a pretty face to look at. After having had that one class with him beforehand, Goro had thought about his looks… _A lot_.

Not anything _inappropriate_ , mind you! He’d just noticed that the male with a shit personality really had a cute face. Dark eyes, cute smile… He was cute. And that was it. That’s all Goro thought.

He couldn’t help that he thought it often though.

Even throughout the class, he did find himself thinking about his instructor. Sweet, charming, good-looking. No wonder his students seemed to like him so much. There was no reason not to. That was until you had a normal conversation with him. He’d only left Goro speechless last time.

Frowning as he began to roll his mat up like he always did, Goro was kneeling on the floor. He’d noticed that the edges of his mat had been curled up a bit during his class, but honestly? It hadn’t really bothered him. It wasn’t like it was all that bad, but he did wonder how everyone else could keep their mats so straight. Did they unroll them when they got home? Maybe they had designated areas in their homes to practice yoga.

Unfortunately, Goro didn’t have that kind of luxury. His apartment, though nice, was rather small. If he wanted a brand new, more expensive than necessary, welcome mat though, well he found the right thing.

Still, he doubted that _everyone_ had the space for their mats… Right?

Maybe he could look up something later. If his mat was only going to get worse from here on out, then he was going to have to figure out how to fix it.

Oh! Maybe he could try rolling it on the opposite side! Maybe then the corners will roll towards the ground and make it flatter.

Then again, there was the issue with having to turn it onto the dirty floor to roll it up…

Sighing, Goro figured he could look something up at home. He just felt like leaving so that he could continue to relax after this.

“May I offer some advice?” A voice brought him out of his thoughts, and Goro found himself blinking. Glancing to the side, he noticed his teacher bent down and looking at him, a soft smile on his face.

_Oh no_. Dealing with him during class was fine enough, but having to speak with him individually afterwards? Goro was _not_ in the mood for any further embarrassment. And he _also_ was not in the mood for any unpleasant chit chat.

Though it would be rude to just turn the other male away. He was offering some help. Maybe a second chance would prove that Goro had been wrong about him.

“Uh, sure.” He muttered, his hands pausing on the rolling of his mat.

The other male kneeled beside him, taking his mat away from Goro and placing it in front of himself.

“I noticed that you don’t clean your mat.” He said, and Goro watched as he undid the work that the brunet had tried so hard to complete. Well, it was just a sloppy rolling…

He did shake his head though. _Cleaning_? Sure, he was exercising. But it wasn’t like he’d been _sweating_ while he was doing yoga. It wasn’t intense enough for him to. Still, he shook his head, and the other male’s smile only widened.

He reached into his bag at his side, tugging out a small spray bottle and dusted the mat with a light misting. What was in the bottle though? Goro couldn’t really smell anything, and it looked like it was home made. There was no label on the spray bottle…

And then after that he pulled a rag from his bag, then wiping down the mat gently. All of his movements were fluid and almost like a dance in nature. He didn’t hold anything too rough with his hands, and he looked so… Natural with everything. It was a bit strange.

He seemed so elegant at times.

And then after he was finished, the male tossed his things back into the bag at his side.

“Clean your mat regularly to keep it smelling nice.” He instructed. And then he folded the mat in half, leaving what looked to be an inch or two of space between the edges of the mat. Then, rolling it up from the folded part, the male had the mat secured inless than half the time it’d taken Goro to roll up the entire thing.

And then he turned to the brunet once more.

“If you fold it first, the edges won’t start to roll up like they’d been doing for you earlier.” Oh. So he’d noticed. And then he unrolled the mat just a bit-- finger poking at the rubber underside of the mat. “And if you roll it like this, only the parts that touch the floor touch each other. It keeps the mat from getting dirty, but it also uses it for protection.”

Oh. So maybe this guy had it in him to be nice after all. He knew quite a bit about yoga (he was an instructor after all), so Goro was bound to learn a lot from him. 

Huh. Maybe they’d just gotten off to a rough start.

“Use your brain sometime. It’ll get you places.”

Or not. This guy was still an asshole.


End file.
